Naruto: A Smarter Shinobi!
by Oraki.Vendo
Summary: Take our usual idiotic blonde hero, add a small change of events, and BAM you've got a new and improved Naruto. One, that with help from his friends, will rise to become not just the strongest ninja in his village, but the world! AU. Mild-cross overs. Small OC's here and there. Multiple pairings throughout the story. Character deaths. Will often deter from canon for side arcs.
1. The first page of a new chapter

**HELLO MINA-SAN~!**

**VENDO-SAMA IS BACK! :3**

**So I know I still have a few other stories that I am currently working on but just between us, I personally don't think they are very good and I did them such a long time ago that I've kind of lost interest in them. However, Naruto the Demon Sage will continue simply because I don't want to let all of you down so, for at least a little longer that will continue on.**

**BUT! That is not this story! This is my latest work and its going to be EPIC. I'm plan on taking my time with this piece so as to create a fun and exciting story that I'll enjoy writing and all of you will enjoy reading (hopefully). I've already got heaps ideas for this story and I've done the plans for the next eight or so chapters.**

**There will be multiple arcs within this story and it will definitely deter from Canon. A lot. Expect character deaths. Naruto will end up being with multiple women but all his age (or close to it at the very least) but not all at the same time and it won't be until like later on when everyone is a little bit older and ya know, start getting interested in the opposite sex.****There will be a really big focus on team work and the Genin's interactions with each other. Especially Team 7. Naruto will be somewhat smarter, calmer and collected. He will be taking quite the leadership role in this fic and his determination will be tested often. Sakura is not going to be as much of a bitch and Sasuke is still going to be the arrogant asshole he is but he'll be nicer and I suppose somewhat more sociable but only to a specific few.**

**There will be numerous cross-overs within this fic but not of other characters joining the Naruto-verse. Just powers, abilities and weapons. I know that seems a little iffy but trust me on this. :P**

**I do believe that is all I need to tell you...**

**So, please enjoy the story! :D**

**Oh and I do apologise but the first three chapters will be somewhat slow moving. After that though, it's GO GO GO!**

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**Disclaimer:**

**Unfortunately, despite being how cool and awesome I am, I do not own Naruto.**

**That honour goes to the esteemed Kishimoto-sensei whom I respect quite a lot.**

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**Naruto: The Tale of a Slightly Smarter Shinobi**

**Chapter 1: The First Page of a New Chapter**

"Naruto."

"Naruto!"

"NARUTO!"

"**DAMN IT NARUTO, WAKE UP!**"

With a slow, sloth like movement, our blonde haired hero tilted his head to face his instructor. A slight trickle of drool could be seen escaping from his mouth.

"Why'd you have to wake me up for Iruka-sensei, I was having a really good dream ya know."

"That's exactly why I woke you up Naruto. You were sleeping during one of my lectures," Iruka said exasperated. Naruto looked up at his sensei with his drowse induced eyes. Said man looked back at him with a slight glare. After a moment, Naruto simply turned his head over and started to sleep again. A tick mark formed on Iruka's forehead.

"Naruto! Get up right now or I'll have you clean all the tables in the academy for a week!" Iruka said angrily. With a yawn, Naruto slowly started to raise his head off the table.

"Ok, Ok I'm up," he said as he stretched a little. "What'd I miss?" he asked. With a sigh, Iruka moved to address the whole class.  
"Because Naruto here missed majority of the lecture, each person is going to tell me one thing they know about the Hokage."

A collective moan erupted in the class.  
"Sensei! Why do all of us have to be punished because of the idiot?"

Iruka smirked.  
"Because I said so. On top of that, this lets me get to see if all of you were actually paying attention to my past lectures. Think of it as a pop quiz. Now, let's start. We'll go from the top of the class and work our way down," he said. He then pointed to the girl sitting at the back. "Hinata, would you please start us off?" he asked smiling. With a start, she stood up from her seat.

"Y-Yes sensei!" Hinata took a breath to steady herself. "T-The Hokage w-w-were legendary ninja w-w-who led our v-village into greatness."

Iruka smiled.

"Good job Hinata."

Feeling a little relieved, Hinata sat back down.

"Ok," Iruka started "Next!"

And so the next person got up and said one thing they knew about the Hokage. This proceeded to happen throughout the whole class. Each person would stand up and mention one thing they knew about the past four Hokage. There were a rather wide variety of answers between the students. Answers that ranged from the type of techniques the different Hokage were famous for, the weapons they used, some of the summons they had, their teachers, and so on. Iruka was rather pleased with how much his students knew about the Hokage. However, there was one student that gave him his doubts: Iruka's favourite student but also most troublesome. He decided to save Naruto for last so as to hopefully allow one of the students that were currently giving a piece of information about the Hokage make something spark in Naruto so that he remembered something about them. Little did he know though, Naruto was probably the most informed person about the Hokage in the room (despite his sensei of course). He loved the Hokage. He thought they were so cool! He loved how they were so respected, so feared and well known. That's exactly what he wanted to become, respected and well known. This was the reason why he made Hokage his goal. The stories that the Third had told him about the past Hokage just attracted him. Naruto wanted people to tell stories of him like they did the past Hokage. When it was finally Naruto's turn and he stood up, instead of answering like he should have, he simply said:

"I don't need to know a thing about the Hokage! They're not going to matter when I take their spot and out shine them ya know!"

There was a pause. Then a moment afterwards, the whole class started to laugh.

"Ahaha! As if an idiot like you could become the Hokage!" shouted a boy near the back.

"Yeah! Kiba's dog has a better chance to get that spot than you do!"

The insults continued. Naruto hung his head so that his hair over shadowed his eyes. No matter how many times they said it, no matter how many times he ignored them and pretended that their words didn't mean anything, it didn't change the fact that it still hurt. After all, he was still just a kid; one that was dealt a rather bad hand in life. However, he never let it bother him for long. With a face of strong determination, he turned around , raised his head and faced everyone.  
"Watch me!" he shouted "I'll be the best ninja that this village has ever seen! And before you know it, I'll have you eating your words!" The class continued laughing except for a few people like Shikamaru, Hinata, Sasuke, Shino and Chouji. They didn't participate in the classes petty bullying. Iruka sighed.

"Sit down Naruto," he said a little exasperated. "Your Hokage speeches are all well and good, just don't do them in my class. Now, would you at least please answer the question like everyone else?"

Naruto gave a nod.

"Thank you," Iruka said as a small smile graced his face. "OK, so Naruto, tell me something you know about the Hokage."

Naruto's smile grew really wide; he really liked talking about the Hokage. It was his dream after all.

"The Forth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, was said to be the greatest out of the four Hokage!" he declared. Iruka gave a small smile. It was rather basic but it was at least a try for his delinquent student. Hinata Hyuuga said something just as basic earlier anyhow. He decided he would let him off easy today.

"Good job Naruto. Ok next," However, Iruka was suddenly cut off by Naruto's voice.

"The Fourth Hokage's nick name was 'The Yellow Flash' because of his teleportation jutsu that allowed him to teleport from once place to another with his signature kunai. His victory over Iwa, in the Third Great Shinobi War earned him the very first Flee on Sight order ever seen in a Bingo Book. It wasn't long afterwards was he elected as the Fourth Hokage. Where, once again he lived up to his name and title by protecting the village from the Kyuubi, which wreaked havoc within the village. It was one of the worst moments in all of Konoha's history. Many lives were lost including our late Hokage."

Everyone was stunned into silence. Naruto had gone into a detailed description of one of the Hokage. Something no one ever thought he'd be able to do. Naruto had given his little presentation with his eyes closed so as to concentrate on remembering all the information that the Third had told him. However, at the end of it, his eyes opened and a massive grin was etched on his face.

"He's also my idol and we kind of look the same ya know!" he shouted as he did a little fist pump into the air. Everyone gave a little sigh and went back to ignoring him as Naruto sat back down, everyone but Shikamaru that is.

'They do kind of look the same don't they…' he thought to himself as he gazed over his occasional class-ditching buddy.

"U-Uh, thanks for that Naruto. That was very…informative," Iruka stuttered as he tried to recompose himself.

'Where did that even come from? I might have a word with him after class about it,' Iruka thought as he continued his lecture.

It wasn't until another couple of hours was class finally dismissed. Naruto had once again fallen asleep (not long after Iruka had resumed teaching) but he woke up for the last ten minutes of the lesson. Once the final bell had rang, all the students hurriedly made their way out of the classroom, besides for a few, Naruto being one of them. Naruto was the last person out of the classroom. He decided that he'd take a leisurely stroll after class. It wasn't like anyone was waiting for him at home anyway. He had gotten up from his chair and desk and made his way down the classroom.

"Seeya later sensei," Naruto said as he walked past his teacher sitting behind his desk that was placed in front of the class with his hands behind his back. Iruka hurriedly fixed up the papers he was fiddling with before he dismissed class.

"Wait a second Naruto," he said, as Naruto was about to leave the classroom. Naruto turned around to face his sensei with a confused look.

"What did you need sensei?" he asked simply. Iruka walked up beside him.

"Well you see," he began "I was curious as to where you got that information on the Hokage from. I never taught you any of that in my lectures before."

Naruto turned around completely so he was properly facing his teacher. With a smile he said "Yeah! The Old man taught it to me! I was in his office one time and he was telling me all about the Hokage! It was one of the best afternoons I've had with him ya know," he said happily as he recalled the memory with the Third Hokage in his head.

Iruka gave an understanding nod. Naruto rarely got to spend any one on one time with anyone so it's not that hard to assume that it was one of the moments he cherished and learnt from. Iruka smiled fondly at Naruto. He knew that Naruto was a smart boy, and a hard working one to boot. He just needed a way to teach him things without being labeled as a teacher that played favourites (despite the fact that everyone already knew that Naruto was his favourite). Sure he could just spend hours and hours before and after class with Naruto, but all extra remedial classes and one on one teacher time that had any resemblance to tutoring had to be pre-approved before hand. And, with Naruto's rather unfortunate reputation, the educational board at the academy probably wouldn't allow Iruka the privilege of tutoring Naruto. Iruka sighed which went unnoticed by Naruto who had continued rambling about the 'cool things' he had done with the Third Hokage.  
'If only there was a place where there was a rather extensive amount of information that Naruto could learn from.' Iruka thought to himself. He suddenly felt like smashing his head against the doorframe for being such an idiot.

'Of course!' He thought to himself 'The Konoha library!'  
Iruka suddenly grinned wildly.  
"Uh…" Naruto started "is everything OK sensei, your smile is kind of creeping me out," Naruto said tilting his head to get a better look at his sensei's face.  
Iruka gave a nod.  
"Yes Naruto, everything is fine," he said recomposing himself. He looked at Naruto.  
"Would you like to learn a little more about the Hokage and about a lot of other super cool stuff as well?" Iruka asked Naruto with a tone that was drenched in temptation.

Naruto's curiosity was peaked. He would never miss a chance to learn more about the Hokage. He quickly thought on it for a moment though. He did plan on getting some ramen. He quickly shrugged it off though. He could always get ramen later. In fact, he thought he might be lucky enough that Iruka may end up treating him again.  
"Yeah ok!" Naruto said happily. Iruka stood up straight and went to grab the rest of his things from his desk.  
"Ok Naruto, follow me!" He exclaimed as he led the way out of the classroom and the academy until they found themselves on Konoha's roads. The two walked through the streets of Konoha for quite some time in relative silence. Iruka walking at a rather brisk pace thinking about what books he should make Naruto read and whether or not he would actually read them. Naruto walked a couple of steps behind his sensei with his hands behind his back. He wasn't sure where they were going but he was hoping it would be exciting and super cool. Unfortunately, when they arrived at their destination, he was incredibly disappointed.

"A library!" he shouted pointing at the building whilst yelling at his sensei. "You made us walk all that way for a library?" he asked annoyed. A smile grew on Iruka's face.  
"Yep!" he said "A library!"

Naruto just gave him a deadpanned look.

"Sensei, you can't be serious. You and I both know me and books don't go so well together."

Iruka shrugged his shoulders.

"Who knows, maybe you have just been reading the wrong ones." With that he started to make his way inside the library. Naruto protested but followed along anyway. When they entered. Naruto was stunned. The place was huge! It was like an endless sea of books that carried on for another two floors. Each bookcase had to be at least seven shelves tall. Despite it being such a large place, he realised that there weren't as many people there as he thought there would be. And those that were there were mostly adults or the elderly. Iruka had walked past the counter and started making his throughout the different rows of bookshelves followed by Naruto.

"Sensei," Naruto began with a whisper "what exactly are we doing here?" he asked as he looked around

"You said you wanted to learn more right?" Iruka asked as he pulled out a random book and looked at the title before putting it back.

"Well, this is the library. There isn't going to be a better place for learning than here. Everything you could ever want to know is somewhere within these stacks of books. You just have to find it is all," he said as he pulled out another book, this time keeping it as he moved on. Naruto could only shake his head.  
"But sensei!" Naruto protested, "We both know these stupid things won't help me! I thought you were going to take me somewhere cool."

Iruka sighed.

"Look Naruto," he told his student "just give these books a chance. Take a look around. I'm sure you'll find something interesting. Besides, this is a shinobi library. Most of these books have some kind of link to the shinobi arts." He told him. "Look," Iruka said as he pointed to the desk where a young librarian wearing glasses sat. "Ask her for any kind of book you want or how this library is structured or for just any information about the library. Make sure you sign up so you can borrow books ok. I'll give you one hour. If you can borrow five books that you find actually interesting and will read, I'll treat you to ramen."

Naruto's face went from that of annoyance to determination.

"You got it sensei! I'll borrow five books no doubt! Then, ramen!" he shouted which got him a shushing noise from his sensei.

"I admire the enthusiasm, but we're in a library Naruto, you need to keep it down," he whispered. Naruto gave a silent nod as he walked off and headed towards the counter.

"Excuse me," Naruto whispered to the girl on the other side of the counter. There was no response. He tried again a little louder.

"Excuse me."

The girl looked at him. There was a moment of awkward silence between the two. Naruto was about to say something but the girl cut in first.

"Was there something I could help you with?" she asked. He gave a nod. The girl beckoned for him to ask away and so he did.

"Well, you see," he began "my sensei said I should borrow some books but I don't know what books to borrow. He said this was a shinobi library and that I should ask about the different sections of the library so that finding books would be easier."

The girl gave a nod. All of that made sense.

"So I was hoping you could help me out by telling me about the library and stuff."

The girl gave another small nod.

"Sure," she said. From there, she started to explain everything about the library; everything from the different books that the library stored, the different sections of the library and where he could find certain books. As she did this, Naruto took in certain details of the girl behind the counter. She was young, around her late teens. She wore a brown coat with a blue scarf. She had rectangular glasses that sat on the bridge of her nose. Her hair was long and curly but not curly enough to make it look messy.

"So did you get all of that?" she asked him making Naruto come back to his senses.

"U-Uh, yeah. Thanks Ms…uh…"

"Call me Rika," the newly announced Rika said with a smile when she realised that the blonde was trying to find a way to address her.

"Thank you Rika!" he said with a smile. Rika frowned.

"That's Rika-san to young man," she told him. With her frown never leaving her face she looked at him sternly "and it's polite to introduce yourself first," she scolded. Naruto looked down embarrassed.

"Sorry," he said as he looked back up at her with a sheepish smile whilst scratching the back of his head. "The names Naruto Uzumaki! The number one prankster in the leaf village and future Hokage ya know!" he told Rika. The brunette gave a critical eye on Naruto. The tension between the two was rather high. Naruto was sure she would tell him to leave the moment she realised that he was the young man always pulling pranks within the village but it turns out he was wrong. Rika gave him a warm smile.

"Well Naruto," she started "As long as you behave, don't make much noise and don't pull any pranks, you're welcome here anytime."

Naruto's smile only grew.

"Thank you again!"

"Don't mention it," Rika said. Rika then had a thought.

"Say Naruto, you don't have a library card do you?" she asked him. He shook his head. She gave him another smile.

"Well," Rika began "I'll tell you what. You go over there and look for books you would like to borrow and bring them over here. When you bring them back, I'll set up a library card for you."

With another quick thank you, Naruto made his way towards the ocean of books. He heard some of the things that Rika had told him about the different sections of the library and what he ought to look for. She told him that all the shinobi books were on both the second and third floor. However, seeing as he wasn't completely sure as to what he wanted read, decided to start looking around in the civilian section which was on the first floor. He decided to peruse around the different sections of the first floor of the library. As he did so, Naruto found some rather interesting books. Two that really caught his eye were 'Basic wilderness survival' and 'Cooking: Made Easy.' Seeing as Naruto hardly spent anytime in the wild or living rough, he figured that he ought to learn seeing as he wanted to become a ninja. Everyone knew that a lot of ninja's spent a lot of their time camping out and living off the land. Might as well learn as much as he could about it right? As for the second book, despite the fact that he loved ramen, even he knew that it wasn't exactly the healthiest food. However, it was practical and definitely did the job of filling him up. But, Naruto also longed to be able to eat all kinds of delicious foods. Seeing as he didn't have the money to go around buying nice foods, might as well learn how to make them instead. He flicked through the book. He liked how they all looked pretty simple to make and still looked good as well. So, he decided to take both books with him. Naruto then slowly started climbing the stairs to the shinobi section. Once he got there, he saw that the two floors were divided all into rank. The first floor of the shinobi section (or the second floor of the library) was for Genin and Chuunin. The Chuunin section was locked off by black bars and had a slot to insert what looked like some kind of ID card.

'Probably just for security,' Naruto deduced. However, the Genin section was completely open. There were no locks or anything. Academy students like him could even walk in and find a book to borrow. Which, Naruto decided to do. The moment he walked in, it was like walking into a candy shop with a ton of money. All the books were on ninjutsu or other stuff retaining to the ninja arts. Before he knew it, he was pulling books out of the shelves and looking at the covers and flicking through the pages left and right. He found books on chakra control, how to get out of and set traps, the best places to attack on the human body, some shinobi history and more. In the end, Naruto ended up borrowing a number of different books. Chakra Control: The Key to Mastering Jutsu, Basic Jutsu vol. 1, The Art of Taijutsu: The Shinobi's First Art and finally, a dusty small book he found near the back of the Genin section. It was a story. Not an information book but a story about a ninja. The book was titled The Tale of an Utterly Gutsy Shinobi. Naruto thought the title sounded cool so he thought he'd borrow it as well. He honestly didn't think he'd read any of these books, let alone the story but he figured he'd make Iruka happy and that Rika girl didn't seem like a bad person, so he thought he ought to make her happy too. Naruto found a number of different books that he thought were pretty cool but he didn't want to carry too much and on top of that a lot of them were a little bit too complicated for him. So he decided to just roll with what he had. He made his way out of the Genin section. As he did so though, he managed to spy the stairs that led up to the Jounin and higher-ranking floor. The stairs were guarded by what looked like two Chuunin. Obviously the security levels for those books would be high. Most of them probably held super top-secret village secrets. Naruto thought it would be cool to one day be able to walk in there but seeing as he was still only an academy student, that goal seemed a little far away.

'Oh well,' he thought. Happy with the books he had, he made his way back down the stairs and off to the counter where Rika the librarian was. When the desk was in sight, he saw Iruka already there talking to the brunette. He walked up to them with a little wave. Iruka and Rika both flashed him a smile.

"Hello Naruto," Iruka said, "I see you found a number of books." Iruka was looking at the small pile of books in Naruto's arms. He was happy that Naruto was at least going to give books ago, even if he did have to bribe him with Ramen. Naruto gave a nod. He put his books on the counter and then looked down at his feet embarrassedly.

"Ya know," he started quietly "I don't have any spare money to pay for these books Iruka-sensei, so how am I meant to borrow them?" he asked. Both Iruka and Rika looked at each other. There was a moment between the two before they started laughing. Naruto suddenly got angry. Were they laughing at his misfortune? How dare they!

"It's not funny ya know!" he shouted at them. Rika was the first to settle down.

"Sorry Naruto, it's just that this is a library. You don't need money to borrow books. That's the whole point," She told him.

"Your sensei here just gave me your details and I made you a library card while you were looking for books," she said as she handed him a little plastic card with his name on it.

"Whenever you want to borrow books, all you have to do is take your books to the counter, show the librarian – which is usually me – your card, they'll take it, scan it, scan the book and then the book is under your name, all completely free. See." Rika said as she demonstrated the process she just told him by doing it herself with the new books he borrowed. It took less than a moment before she handed him back his books with a smile on her face.

"All done."

Naruto took the books back.

"Thank you," he said with a toothy grin. He was kind of excited to start looking at some of the books.

"Well, we better get going, I owe this rascal some ramen," Iruka said as he messed up Naruto's hair. Naruto brushed his arm off.

"Before you go," Rika told Naruto "Remember, the books are due in one month, that means you have to either return them before then or get an extension on the borrowing date. Otherwise, you'll have to pay money because they are overdue."

"Ex-ten-sion?" Naruto said saying each syllable so as to try and fully grasp the word. Rika giggled.

"It means you can borrow the book for longer," Iruka added which gave him a nod from Rika. Naruto gave a nod in understanding.

"OK!" Naruto said as he started heading towards the exit with his sensei.

"I'll see you around Rika-nee!" he called back waving to her as he left the library followed by his sensei. Rika smiled.

'He sure is something,' she thought to herself. 'I told him to call me Rika-san though. Oh well, I could get used to the Rika-nee,' she thought with a small smile as she went back to her book.

It wasn't too long before the two shinobi (well, one shinobi and a shinobi to be) were sitting at the young blondes favourite eating establishment.

"Here you are," Teuchi said as he placed a bowl of miso ramen in front of Naruto.

"Itadakimasu," was all Naruto said before he hurriedly started eating his food. Iruka sat next to him eating his own bowl but at a much slower rate.

"Jeez Naruto, ease up a little. The ramen isn't going anywhere," he told him. Naruto ignored his sensei. A few minutes later, Naruto was on his second bowl.

"He sure does eat a lot doesn't he," Iruka said. Both chefs of the restaurant gave a firm nod with a happy smile.

"Yep. He's our number one customer for a reason. I'm thinking to get him a custom bowl just for him. Make it super large. If he likes it, I might even put it on the menu. Call it, the Uzumaki sized ramen. What do ya think? Pretty catchy right?" Teuchi asked Iruka with a smirk. Iruka could only give a smile as a response.

"Yeah, it does sound pretty catchy," he said a little unsure. Teuchi however didn't care. He knew that before too long he'd be brining in big bucks with the new Uzumaki sized ramen. Definitely.

Ayame, Teuchi's daughter was handing Naruto a glass of water.

"What are all the books that you have next to you about Naruto?" she asked him with a smile.

"Oh this?" he confirmed looking at the books next to him, "These are the books I borrowed from the library Ayame-nee-chan. There's a ton of cool stuff I got from there. And Rika-nee and Iruka-sensei helped me borrow them," he told her. Ayame was happy that Naruto had found a new sense of information and hopefully a new productive hobby, however there was something that concerned her.

"Rika-nee?" she questioned. Naruto gave a firm nod as he took a sip from his water.

"She's a…" Naruto looked to his sensei for assistance.

"Librarian," Iruka added which gave his student a grin.

"Yeah! A librarian!" Naruto repeated. "Anyway, she was super helpful to me when finding books and stuff. And like, she said I could borrow the books for free and come by whenever I want. She's pretty cool," Naruto concluded. Ayame however started to feel a little jealous.

"I thought I was your only Nee-chan though Naruto." She said.

Naruto tilted his head like a confused puppy. "You are my Nee-chan, Nee-chan," he said "but Rika-nee is pretty cool too. And she's like your age so it's nearly the same. It's like I have two nee-chan's now!" Naruto said realizing that he now had more precious people. "Woo!" he cried as he did a little fist pump into the air. Ayame sighed. She figured he was just too young to realize girl's feelings, even if they were maternal.

"I'm glad you met another nee-chan Naruto," she told him with a small smile.

"Me too," Naruto agreed as well. Iruka and Teuchi decided to just stay out of it all. They knew how bad women could be when they became a little possessive over something. And, because they both knew the rather strong elderly sister feelings that Ayame had on Naruto, she wasn't going to be happy knowing that there would be someone competing for the title of 'Naruto Uzumaki's sister.'

As Naruto and Iruka were paying up and slowly getting their things ready to leave Ayame only had one thought on her mind.

'Just you wait Rika, I'll show you that I'm the only nee-chan Naruto Uzumaki can want or need.'

Naruto and Iruka waved goodbye and walked back onto the streets again. The sun was slowly going down now.

"Well, I have some last minute things to attend to back at the academy, take care walking home OK," Iruka told Naruto. Naruto gave a fake salute.

"Yes sir!" he cried.

Iruka sighed.

"Just behave yourself OK," and with that Iruka started making his way back towards the academy. However, before he turned the corner he heard Naruto shout out to him.

"Thank you for today Iruka-sensei!"

It made him smile. With that said, Naruto watched as his sensei rounded the corner leaving him alone. His smile never faded as he turned around and started running home with his books in his hands. He wasn't sure what it was, but something told him he was going to start enjoying reading books. He wasn't complaining. It was a start to a new chapter in his story, the story of Naruto Uzumaki. The soon to be smart shinobi!

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**I hope you liked the first chapter. R&amp;R if you did :)**

**Until next time, Vendo-sama is out! :3**


	2. The second page of a new chapter

**Hello Mina-san! **

**Here is Oraki-sama's gift to you! Chapter 2! WOO .**

**I'm really enjoying writing this story and personally I feel as if it's far better than the other stories that I have written so far. Plot wise and actual writing ability. I hope you're all enjoying it as well. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this before, but the first few chapters are pretty slow moving. It sets the scene for the rest of the story so please bear with it for now.**

**Other than that, please enjoy! **

**Chapter 3 will be up soon :D**

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**Disclaimer  
**

**As always, Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto-sensei and not Oraki-sama unfortunately.  
T.T**

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**Naruto: The Tale of a Slightly Smarter Shinobi**

**Chapter 2: Second Page of a New Chapter**

Naruto was in his room. Sitting on his bed with his legs crossed and his newly borrowed books scattered all around him. Naruto was currently in a little bit of a pickle. The evening was still young and he didn't exactly want to just go to sleep and he really did want to get started on his new books. However, he was unsure as to which book he should start with. He really wanted to get started into the ninja stuff but knew it would probably be better if he started reading that at the academy so as to get help from Iruka or when he was out and doing some training.

"Maybe I should go with something easy," he said to himself as he looked at the smaller book on his bed. It was the book he found at the back of the Genin section. He picked it up and dusted off the cover. The tale of an utterly gutsy shinobi it was called. He looked down at the bottom of the cover and saw that "Jiriya of the Sanin" wrote it. He heard the name some where before but didn't really pay much attention to it so he dismissed the annoying voice in the back of his mind about it. He opened the book to the very first page. On the inside of the cover there was an inscription.

"To my most dedicated reader," it said, "I give you this signed copy of my first book. May it inspire you to follow the true path of a shinobi," Then, on the bottom of the little message was Jiriya of the Sanin's autograph. Naruto didn't really know what that meant but it was a nice little message anyway. Naruto flicked over the page and arrived to the first lot of text. The top of the page read "Enter: The Ninja Naruto!"

Naruto was stunned. He and the main character shared the same name as him. He suddenly felt far more excited to read the book. He quickly packed away all his other books and put them on his bedside shelf. He then leapt back onto his bed with the Tale of an Utterly Gutsy Shinobi in hand.

Hours went by. Naruto was definitely not a fast reader but he had fallen in love with the book and it's story. His eyes darted from one side of the page to the other before he quickly flicked the page and continued to read hungrily. He was so engrossed into the book that he didn't even realize what time it was. He didn't care though. He just wanted to keep reading. The book was simple and easy to follow. The story of an average ninja going through hard trials to become the best was something that absolutely sold Naruto. Of course though, not even Naruto could pull off an all-nighter of reading. Naruto slowly felt his eyes getting heavy; he looked out the window and saw that it was already dark. The stars had made their presence known to the world within the night sky. He looked back down at his book. He had managed to read a quarter of the book already. He was rather proud of that effort. However, he couldn't continue. He needed to go to the academy tomorrow and despite the fact that he did nap in class from time to time, he really didn't want to get on Iruka-sensei's bad books after showing him the library yesterday and treating him to ramen. So, with that mindset he closed his book, making sure to remember his page number, changed into some sleep where, including his rather childish nightcap before crawling under the blankets of his bed and falling asleep.

The next morning, Naruto woke up nice and early. He was feeling rather refreshed and excited to start a new day. He quickly had a shower, had breakfast and got ready for his day at the academy. He checked the clock on his kitchens wall and realised that he had about half an hour until classes started. He didn't really have anything to do that morning. In all honesty, he just wanted to continue reading. He then had a small idea. If he left now, he could've brought some of the books he borrowed so that he could read in the classroom in peace before everyone showed up. The informative books were rather big so he'd need something to carry them in. The book he was reading last night was incredibly small in size, so much so that it could fit inside his inner jacket pocket, which worked well for him. He got up from the kitchen table after putting his dishes away and walked back into his room. He put the Tale of an Utterly Gutsy Shinobi inside his jacket and moved to where the other books were. He looked at the titles of the books again and took a moment to decide on which ones he wanted read the most.

'I think I might take the cook book,' he thought to himself. 'The fridge and cupboards are pretty empty and Iruka-sensei keeps saying I need to eat more than just ramen. If I find anything I want to cook I could stop by the market after classes I suppose,' he said in his head. Deciding on taking that with him, he took it out from his little pile. Seeing as he already had two books, he decided that that would be enough to tide him over the day at the very least. Holding the book close to his chest, he made his way out of his apartment. Making sure to lock the door as he walked out, he took off to the academy.

The walk was rather uneventful. It was still early and shops were still opening up. No one paid much attention to the blonde haired boy carrying a book in his arms making his way to the academy. Once he arrived there, he was pleased that it was still relatively empty. He could see some teacher in the classrooms from the outside of the building so he knew that it was open. He made his way from the main entrance of the main all the way to his classroom where Iruka would teach. He peeked inside. No one was there yet. Good. Usually he'd sit near the middle of the class in the center row. He had learned quickly that if you sit at the back and you were noisy, you'd get into trouble really quickly. It was the same for the front of the class. However, he found that if you were to sit in the middle, and you were only somewhat noisy or completely quiet, you could get away with a lot of things due to the fact that the noise from the other students would tend to drown out your own. However, today, he decided he wouldn't do that. The issue about being in the middle is that you were easily identified. At the back of the room, especially in the back corner, no one really paid much attention to you. That's kind of what Naruto wanted today. He just wanted to read. He entered the classroom and quickly took his seat by the window in the back row of seats. The sun was bright and the sky was blue. For some reason, when he opened the first few pages of the cookbook he borrowed, a warm sensation flooded him. It was…nice. He looked at the clock on the wall. He still had around fifteen minutes until lessons started.

'Plenty of time,' he thought happily. He opened to the first page of the cookbook, which just so happened to be the contents page. He realised that the book was broken up into categories ranging from breakfasts, short and simple lunches to some rather stunning dinners. He didn't really know where to start from so he decided that he'd just scan through the pages until he came across some foods that he thought would be really cool to make. So with that set in mind, he did so. He spent about five minutes going through the whole book and found that he wanted to try almost all the recipes there. They all looked so delicious and most of them didn't have many ingredients to them so Naruto felt it would be easy to buy with his limited amount of money. Sure some of them looked hard and he didn't know what a lot of the terms in the recipe meant like 'sauté' or 'simmer,' but he figured he'd learn them eventually as things went on. He had mentally took note of a few certain recipes that he felt he could cook if he had the right ingredients in his apartment which he probably hadn't so he also made a mental note to go shopping after classes as well. They were some rather simple dishes. The first one he wanted to try was a soup. Chicken and sweet corn he believed it was called. The other was a curry. He had seen many people eat it before but he himself had never tried it. He thought it'd be cool that if the first time that he did try it, it was something that he himself had made. He was rather enjoying his cookbook but his reading was suddenly interrupted. He felt a presence beside him. He turned around and saw a boy his age with a piercing onyx eyes and a hairstyle that resembled something similar to that of a duck.

'Sasuke Uchiha,' Naruto thought to himself. He quickly scanned the rest of the room. It was just the two of them at the current time within the classroom. He had apparently been reading for only five minutes. Which meant that people wouldn't start arriving until another five minutes time.

"You're reading a book," was all Sasuke said his eyes never leaving the book in Naruto's hands.

Naruto gave a simple nod as his response. Sasuke was acting kind of weird. He never really talked to anyone. Sure, he could understand that after the massacre, even he himself wouldn't be sociable but Sasuke had never been sociable. Not that he could remember at the very least. Naruto may have been stupid but he was always well informed. He knew what had happened with the Uchiha, and in all honesty, it made him feel somewhat relieved. Just to know that he wasn't the only kid in the academy all alone. That he may have had the possibility of a friend. That is until he saw the eyes of the Uchiha after the very first time they spared after the massacre. He realised then and there that a friendship between the two would've been hard to create.

The Uchiha shrugged at Naruto's rather bland response.

"Just making an observation," he said as he continued to walk past Naruto to the row in front of him and sat down on the chair by the window that was directly in front of Naruto's seat. It wasn't long before there was an awkward silence between the two. Sasuke had decided to just stare out the window. Shrugging, Naruto put his cookbook away having had read enough of it. He didn't want to just sit there though so he decided to take out the book he was reading last night from inside of his jacket and started reading from where he left off. Likewise to the night before, he became so engrossed into the book that he didn't notice that other people had started walking in. Almost everyone hadn't even noticed Naruto in the corner because of the fact that he was so quite and that he had his face buried in a book. Not even Iruka had noticed him. It wasn't until his name was called out in the role did Naruto actually start paying attention.

"Naruto!" Iruka had shouted out. Some laughs could be heard before someone had called out

"That idiot is probably skipping again!" which was followed by some more laughs.

"Huh?" Naruto said as he peered over his book.  
"What are you talking about, I'm over here Iruka-sensei," Naruto said raising his hand to get his teachers attention. To say that everyone was a little surprised would be an understatement.

"O-Oh," Iruka said stupidly. "Ok then…" he said as he ticked his name off the role.

No one else said anything but the classes' laughter stopped. Naruto had no idea what was going on so he decided to just shrug it off. Naruto continued to read throughout the lesson. He heard what they had been talking about and found it to be boring again. Usually he'd just sleep through the class but he now had a far more interesting book to read. No one really bothered with him, not even Iruka because for once, he had been somewhat productive, quiet and wasn't being a disturbance to the class. On more than one occasion he assumed that the reason why he wasn't allowed to sleep in class wasn't for the fact that it was because he was actually sleeping but for the fact that he slept loudly. Once the bell rang for lunch everyone had quickly made their out onto the yard to play on the playground and talk about their lesson. Naruto just continued to sit on his seat and read. Sakura and Ino were one of the last few people to walk out. The reason why was to mainly continue to stare at Sasuke who never took his eyes away from the window but eventually he too left to get some food. Seeing as it was just the two girls and Naruto left in the room, it was kind of hard not to notice him.

"Hey," Sakura said to Ino as they started leaving their seats. "Naruto is reading."  
"Really?" Ino said a little bit surprised. She turned around and noticed that he indeed was reading and rather deeply too.

"Seeing him with a book is kind of weird," she said honestly.

"I agree." Sakura replied. "I wonder what book could've got him into reading so much?"

"Did you want to ask him?" Ino asked off handedly as they slowly started making their way out. Sakura thought about it for moment a she she looked towards Naruto, honestly considering on whether or not she should act on her curiosity. In the end however she chose against.

"Na don't worry about it," she said before they both left the room. Naruto however, didn't. He decided to stay there reading a little more. Naruto only stopped when he felt a presence, once again beside him.

"Since when did you start reading?" the person asked. Naruto peered up from the top of his page.

"Oh, it's just you Shikamaru," he said looking up at the pineapple haired boy. "Iruka-sensei said if I can't concentrate in class then I should try learning another way. So he took me to the library. Turns out I actually like reading," Naruto said with a little chuckle. Shikamaru gave him an analytical glance before shrugging his shoulders.

"Well whatever, it's too troublesome to ask you anymore than that. If you ever go back to the library, maybe borrow a book on Shogi. I only ever play against my dad. It'd be fun to play against someone my own age for once," and with that said he walked away back to his seat to take a nap. Naruto looked at the clock. Lunch was about to end. He sighed, he figured that he ought to listen to some at least some of the lesson today. Reluctantly deciding to put his book back into his jacket pocket, he sat at his table, resting his chin on his palms. The bell rang. Students noisily made their way back into the class until Iruka had come back in and settled them down.

"All right everyone, time for some sparring," he said as he took a clipboard from his desk. The male population of the class all gave a cheer of excitement whilst except for a few such as Sasuke, Shikamaru and Shino just to name a few. The girls on the other hand all gave an exasperated moan.

"Do we have to sensei?" one of the girls asked, "we sparred yesterday."  
"That was punishment. This time is to check progress, now let's go. All of you out to the yard," he informed then ordered. It wasn't long until they were all outside.

"Ok," he started "I'll pair all of you up one at a time and you will each spar then make friendship symbol with your opponent," he told them. They all gave a chant of "yes sensei."

"The first pair, Shino and Kiba, please step into the ring."

The two did as they were instructed.

"Begin!" Iruka shouted and the two dove for each other. It wasn't a very long skirmish, in the end Shino won by a well-placed kick to the stomach sending Kiba out of the ring.

Iruka made some notes on his clipboard before calling out the next set of names. This continued for a little while with the academy students being paired up and being pitted against each other. The last pair and one of the most anticipated matches within the class were finally called.

"Naruto and Sasuke, please step up."

The two obliged.

"Are you two ready?" Iruka asked. Sasuke gave a nod and got into a stance. Naruto grinned wildly.

"Ready to lose Sasuke? This time I'm going to wipe the floor with you!" he declared brazenly. Sasuke gave him an impassive look.

"There's no point in shouting at me if it's all just empty words."

"Begin!" Iruka shouted.

With a yell Naruto rushed in with his hand cocked back. Once he got close enough, he sent his fist out like a bullet being fired from a gun. Sasuke tilted his head slightly and avoided it completely. He then sent a devastating punch to Naruto's stomach. Naruto doubled back. Not wasting anytime, Sasuke sent a kick aimed at Naruto's head. Naruto crossed his arms in front of his face effectively blocking the kick. Sasuke didn't let up though, Using the momentum he had, using his waist as his focal point, he pivoted his body, twisting himself like a semi-spring and switching legs to deliver a devastating roundhouse kick to the side of Naruto. Naruto coughed in pain. Sasuke, satisfied with the blow, went back to his stance in preparation for another bout. The girls around them cheered for their 'Sasuke-kun.'

Naruto sent him a glare. He rushed the raven-haired boy once again. Once he got close enough, his body motion became similar to that of Sasuke's a moment before, twisting his body like a spring and sending a devastating roundhouse kick to the boy. Sasuke blocked it easily but didn't realize how much power the kick had. He grunted as he took the impact and was knocked to the side. Naruto then threw a fast left hook at Sasuke's face. However, it wasn't fast enough. Sasuke caught Naruto's fist with a smirk. Annoyed, Naruto did the first thing that came to his head. Smacking his into Sasuke's. There was a loud crack as Sasuke dropped Naruto's fist and instinctively went to hold the part of his body, which was hurting. Naruto, being able to react faster to the pain, sent a right straight punch right into Sasuke's abdomen causing him to cough in pain. Naruto had a victorious smile embedded on his face. He figured he'd end it with one more punch. He was about to send one last left hook to end the match but Sasuke's speed got the better of him. He was within Naruto's guard in a second and sent an uppercut straight to Naruto's chin. Naruto felt his teeth forcibly smack together. Sasuke then sent a kick to Naruto's stomach pushing him back. The last thing Naruto saw before the match was called was a fist headed towards his face.

'I can block this!' he thought, but he didn't know what to do. His hands had come up to his face in a last ditch effort to protect himself but it was to no avail. The punch connected and he was knocked out of the ring, falling onto the floor.

"Sasuke wins," Iruka announced. Cheers from the girls could be heard as they fawned over their crush. The guys were all smiling and talking about their fights. Sasuke stood in the center of the ring looking at Naruto.

"Hurry up loser, we still need to do the friendship symbol," he said in a monotone. Naruto grunted as he picked himself up off the floor. He trudged towards Sasuke. Sasuke stuck too fingers out in something similar to a handshake. However, he did this looking away. Naruto did the same. The two sets of fingers wrapped around each other.

"Good. Now that you guys have done the friendship symbol we can all head back to class."

Everyone echoed with a "yes sensei!" and made their way back to the classroom. Sasuke was near the back, he was eyeing off Naruto who was currently walking with the rest of the group with his hands behind his head whistling the currently most popular song in the leaf. 'Fighting Dreamers.' Sasuke analyzed him. For someone so short and someone with no style or finesse, he was a rather good fighter, even if it was just brawling. Sasuke did not see the head-butt coming at all. It threw him off guard earning Naruto that punch to the stomach. The power his classmate had in his strikes was incredible as well. He was used to being hit hard but the kick that he blocked that was enough to actually move him. It was from that day onwards, Sasuke vowed to never underestimate the unpredictable blonde again.

Once everyone had arrived at class the last bell had rang.

"That will be all toady. All of you are dismissed," Iruka said as he packed up his papers and headed out of the classroom. All the kids made their way out of the classrooms at their own pace. Naruto had gotten his cookbook and walked off as well, the recipes he wanted to cook he didn't really have the money for so he was unable to buy them. He shrugged and started making his way to Ichiraku's ramen. The walk was pleasant. However, he couldn't help but think about his living conditions. Sure the old man had tried to make it as comfortable as he could but he never had enough money to actually do the things he wanted to do. He had gotten so used to saving his monthly allowance that he just sort of gone without things. But now, he wanted to start changing his life style. The Tales of an Utterly Gutsy Ninja inspired him to become better. On top of that, he wanted to try and experience new things. He now realised that books could give him that opportunity. But, for that, he needed money. He entered the ramen shop. Some shinobi was sitting there eating and took no notice of him. The owners of the shop gave him a warm greeting and started working on Naruto's usual. The man next to Naruto finished eating his ramen and left his money on the counter. With a curt goodbye, he left the shop. Naruto eyed the money on the counter. Suddenly he thought up of an idea. As Teuchi put Naruto's bowl in front of him, Naruto asked a question that would change his life.

"Hey old man, do you think I could work?" he asked. This caught the ramen chef completely by surprised.

"Um, excuse me?" the man asked the boy a little dumbfounded.

"Do you think I could work here from time to time so I can earn a little bit of money?"

Ayame walked up with a wonderful smile.

"I think it'd be a great idea dad!" she exclaimed. The elder man put a hand to his chin in a thinking pose.

"I don't know, this line of work isn't for the feint of hearted," he said mysteriously. Naruto looked downtrodden but he refused to give in.

"I know I'm still young, I haven't even turned eleven yet, but I'm sure I can do something to help out. I'm here often enough and I can learn quick," he said trying his hardest to earn his keep.

The experienced chef continued to think. He then looked at the boy straight in the eyes.

"I thought you wanted to be a ninja?" he asked rather seriously. Naruto swallowed but gave a firm nod.

"I-I do! But, at the moment I don't have any money to do the things I want to do and buy the things I want. But, if I work here I might be able to start getting the things I want!" he said.

"When I do become a ninja though, I can still work here when I'm free! I mean I know lots of people that are ninja and have a second job as well! Please Oji-san! I'm begging you!" Naruto hurriedly added as he put his palms together and bowed his head basically begging.

"Oh go on dad," Ayame added. Teuchi smirked.

"Very well!" he declared, "You start tomorrow!"

Naruto beamed.

"Thank you so much!" he shouted. He hurriedly ate his bowl of ramen and put his money on the counter.

"You won't regret this old man! Trust me!" and with that he ran out of the shop feeling excited.

"Do you think this will affect the amount of customers we have?" Teuchi asked his daughter. She shook her head with a smile.

"Most of the ninja understand the situation. Sure they may not like him but they don't openly abuse the boy or outright hate him. And seeing as most of our customers are ninja, then well, I think we'll be ok," she said with a smile as she started going off and doing some other work around the kitchen.

When Naruto got home, he put his cookbook away. He was feeling really pumped so he thought he'd go and do some training.

"Alright, let's see what other stuff these books have in store for me!" he exclaimed. From his pile of books, he took the taijutsu and the chakra control books and headed off to a training ground.

When he arrived, he took notice of where he was. It was training ground seven. This was where he usually trained by himself late in the afternoon to until sundown. It was usually a quiet training ground. It hosted a lake and forest all around the clearing, which made it an incredibly versatile training ground.

Naruto inhaled the fresh air around him. It felt good. He sighed happily.

"Alright," he said sitting down in the middle of the clearing with his books.

"Let's start with taijutsu, there is no way I'm letting Sasuke beat me like that again!" he exclaimed loudly to himself. Or, well, almost himself. He didn't know that there was someone hidden in the trees with distinct violet hair and snow-white eyes spying on him.

Naruto spent the next hour or so reading the taijutsu book. He loved every page of it. There were so many styles that he had never heard of before! He never liked what the academy teachers taught him in regards to taijutsu so he decided then and there that he'd learn a completely knew style. However, flicking through the book, he couldn't pick just one style. So, instead, he decided to take bits and pieces from other different styles that were in the book. Throughout it all however, he noticed that they all had the same basic stance and that each style said, "Perfect your stance."

Not having anything else to go with, that's what Naruto did. He spent an hour or so getting his stance just right. After he felt that he had done enough on his stance he read a chapter called 'the perfect punch' which talked about how a proper punch is executed. Naruto thought he already had a good punch so he decided to test it. On one of the training logs that was near him, he gave his usual punch. There was a solid thud and the usual small splintering of bark was evident. He smirked. He was rather proud of how strong his punches were. However, he wanted to see how much the book could improve his punch so he read it and decided to test it out.

"So…lead with shoulder hip and heal," he recited to himself as he went through the demonstrated motion within the book. He took a breath and exhaled as he did exactly what the book had told him. His fist landed on the log with a crack. For a moment, he left his fist on the tree segment looking at his fist with an analytical gaze. He then slowly removed his fist and saw that there was a significant dent in the log now.

"Woah…" Naruto said a little stunned. He did a fist pump into the air.

"Oh yea!" he shouted. "Books are awesome!"

Naruto spent the rest of his time at the training grounds working on his chakra control. He found this to be the hardest part of his training that afternoon. Naruto knew that he wasn't very good at chakra control so he decided to just go from the beginning and start from there. He never really understood the purpose of chakra control either until he read a certain line of the first page.

"…With good chakra control, a shinobi can use even the most taxing of jutsu with little to no effort…"

That got Naruto interested. He started having wild fantasies of being able to do super awesome jutsu whenever he wanted. Suddenly feeling super pumped, Naruto shouted out

"Let's do this!"

He turned the page and looked at the first exercise.

Naruto tilted his head as he recited what was at the top of the page.

"Leaf floating?" he questioned himself. He shrugged and kept reading. Once he had finished he gave a small nod.

'Alright,' started thinking to himself as he looked around 'so all I have to do is make a leaf float from the palm of my hand. Sounds simple enough,' he thought to himself as he picked up a leaf from the ground. He placed the leaf on the middle of his palm and started channeling chakra into it. The leaf then suddenly went flying off before slowly descending to the ground. Naruto looked at it with a frown.

'It's meant to just float on top of my palm, not go off flying,' he thought. He sighed as he picked up another leaf and tried again.

'This is going to take some time.'

The rest of the time he spent at the training ground was spent on working through his chakra control and taijutsu elements he learnt. Before nightfall, he had managed to get the leaf to levitate on his palm properly for a minute before it would go off flying. This was an improvement he thought was excellent. He had also managed to learn some other cool taijutsu techniques as well. Ones that made him smirk knowing that he'd be able to try it soon. Satisfied with the amount of training he had done, he decided to go home and turn in for the night. After all, he still had the academy to attend tomorrow and on top of that, he now had a job at Ichiraku's, which he would start at tomorrow as well. He needed all the rest he could get. Once he had gotten home, had something to eat and got ready for bed, he closed his eyes and let the night consume him.

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**Hope you enjoyed! :D**

**R&amp;R if you did ^_^**

**Much love 3**

**Oraki-sama is out!**


	3. And so it begins!

**MINA-SAN~  
VENDO-SAMA HAS RETURNED FROM HIS BLOODY LONG HIATUS~!**

Ok, so I know I do this a lot, just disappear for ages and what not, but don't worry I have been writing this Fic and I have quite a few chapters already written so i'll be uploading them bit by bit. So, expect a lot of activity from me the next few months or so!

I can't really think of anything else to say but sorry for the wait and I hope you enjoy this chapter! :) 

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**DISCLAIMER  
**I own nothing except for the things that I do own. 

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**Chapter 3: And so it begins!**

**** TIME SKIP 2 YEARS ****

Naruto was sitting in the back of the room, once again reading a book. No one even bothered to look at him as they carried on waiting for their sensei to start the lesson. It wasn't because of the fact that he was unnoticeable, nothing of the sort, the reason why was because Naruto with a book just was just apart of everyday life now. He was indeed still loud and boisterous but not so much to the point that it was annoying.

On top of that, some of his classmates had started to respect him a little with his newfound intelligence thanks to his books and the amount he read. He had read an incredible amount of books within the past two years and learned a lot thanks to his friend, the librarian Rika.

Naruto had improved in many different aspects. His basic housekeeping skills had gotten better. His room was no longer a dirty mess. He had also fallen in love with cooking and gardening. He was quite the cook at home and he had started a little herb garden on his balcony filled with western herbs he had obtained from a travelling merchant. The skills he learned from the Ichiraku's helped him a lot with his cooking as well.

The skills that he had improved on the most however, were his skills regarding the ninja arts. Naruto's shinobi skills had increased exponentially. He had read and applied all of the survival skills he found in his books. He had even learnt a few survival jutsu like the campfire jutsu, and the water purification jutsu. His books had also instilled a fair bit of strategy into him and he even learnt how to play Shogi.

His chakra control, albeit not perfect, had indeed become better. He was now at least able to do the substitution jutsu without much issue. He became rather talented with the transformation jutsu (after some practice of course) so that it was no longer an issue.

The only jutsu that he had problems with, no matter how much he tried to fix it, was the clone jutsu. He had tried so hard on his own. He read as much as he could on it and how to do it but no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't. He didn't want to ask anyone for help because well…he felt as if it was something that he needed to do on his own. He was always like that. If he had a problem, he would be the one to solve it. Not others. That's just how he was. It was a matter of pride. However, this just stumped him. So, eventually, he decided to just suck it up and ask someone for help. And who better than the Third Hokage right?

**/Flash-Back no Jutsu!/**

_"__Ah, Naruto, come in," the old man had said as he invited the ninja-to-be inside his office. Naruto obliged._

_"__So Naruto, what can I help you with?" he asked as he looked at Naruto from behind his desk. Naruto thought for a moment on how he ought to ask his question. In the end, he decided to just be upfront about it._

_"__Well you see Gramps," Naruto started in his usual Naruto like mannerisms "I've been training for a while now on a certain jutsu and I just can't get it right. I've read heaps of books on it from both Rika-nee and Iruka-sensei but I just can't get it right," he said his face contorting into a frown. _

_"__I've done a ton of chakra control exercises and I can even do laps around the training ground with leaves stuck to me but I just can't do this!" he said frustrated. The Third Hokage gave an amused chuckle. _

_"__Now, now Naruto, there is no need to get so worked up. Just tell me what it is you're having trouble with and I'll see what I can do to help you," the man said. Naruto gave a nod. _

_"__I just can't seem to do the clone jutsu, Gramps." Naruto said with a sigh. The old man gave him a small smile. With what the boy had within himself, it was no wonder. He probably had huge reserves. _

_"__Why don't you do the Jutsu for me I can take a look," he said. Naruto complied. He produced a ghastly looking copy of himself that lay sprawled out on the floor. Hiruzen looked at the abomination on the floor with an audible 'hmmm.'_

_"__I see what you mean," he said as he walked out from behind his desk and headed to a shelf. He took out a scroll and went back to his desk, opened it and started writing on it._

_"__However," he began as he continued writing "I don't think that it's your chakra control that is the problem here Naruto."_

_"__What do you mean?"_

_"__Well you see, I believe that your chakra reserves are just far too great to do this jutsu," the old man concluded as he started re-rolling up the scroll. _

_"__Do you know what I'm saying Naruto?" he asked. Naruto gave a small, slow nod. _

_"__That means I have a lot of chakra right?" Naruto confirmed. _

_"__That is correct Naruto. So because of how much chakra you have, attempting to manifest such a small amount of chakra to do the clone jutsu is beyond you. However, I do believe I have a solution for you," the Hokage told him as he handed Naruto the scroll he was just writing in. _

_"__Now, this jutsu here in this scroll, is a more advanced form of the clone jutsu which should be able to relieve you of your problem. I have complete faith that you will be able to learn it in no time," the man said with a smile handing him the scroll. Naruto took it with eager eyes and hands._

_"__Thank you so much Gramps!" he shouted excitedly. The man gave an amused laugh before becoming a little serious once more._

_"__But, you have to promise me that you won't teach anyone how to do this jutsu ok?"_

_Naruto gave a salute of understanding. _

_"__And make sure you keep that scroll hidden. It's a special secret Jutsu, so once you've learnt it, I want you to return the scroll back to me. Deal?" Hiruzen added igniting a childish fierceness within the boy to protect their little secret. _

_"__Deal!"_

_The Hokage smiled. _

_"__Good, now you best be off."_

_Naruto didn't need to be told twice and he hurried off to a training ground to start training in his new jutsu. _

**/Flash Back no Jutsu – Kai!/**

Ever since that day, even though he may not have known how to properly do a clone jutsu, he became incredibly proficient in the use of shadow clones. One time, during training, he had decided to really push his limits and see how many clones he could make. He ended up filling up the whole clearing with shadow clones. To say he was a little surprised would be an understatement.

Naruto sighed, getting bored of waiting to find out what the lesson consisted of today. However, it wasn't too long until his boredom was quenched.

"OK class, this is going to be your final sparring session before the Genin Exams!" Iruka declared.

"Everyone to the training grounds at the back of the academy in an orderly fashion please!"

As soon as he heard the words 'sparring session' his eyes instantly darted towards Sasuke's whose own eyes met his. There was a moment between the two before they both turned away and headed for the training ground. Once the whole class arrived Iruka addressed them all.

"OK everyone, I'm going to pair you off and you're all going to commence fighting at the same time. The pairs are on this piece of paper," he said holding the piece of paper up "Come and take a look and then choose an area on the training ground. You have five minutes. Go!" he shouted. Students started crowding their sensei. All but two. Both Naruto and Sasuke knew that for their last spar, they would be paired up. So they just decided to go and pick a spot and wait for everyone else to get ready. When they were, Iruka shouted.

"Haijime!" And students started to duke it out. Naruto and Sasuke however just stared each other off in silence. It wasn't until after a few moments did one of them finally speak.

"So," Sasuke began "This is our last academy spar," he told Naruto. Naruto gave a nod in response.

"Yeah, it's kind of weird isn't it?" To this Sasuke nodded back. He slowly started slipping into a stance.

"At least make this fight somewhat memorable," Sasuke said with a cool and challenging tone. Naruto smirked.

"Yeah! I'll make sure I slam your face so hard into the dirt that you won't ever forget it!" Naruto shouted as he rushed Sasuke. Sasuke could only smirk before he rushed him as well.

The two threw a punch each and with a loud crack, both hit their targets sending them back. It was loud enough to get the attention of all the other students. Soon enough, they had stopped their fights all together to go and watch the rival's match knowing that it would be an incredibly intense one. Iruka sighed.

'I should've known that was going to happen,' he thought to himself. 'Ah, well I at least got to grade the other students before they moved off,' he continued thinking before he too went over to watch his two students.

Sasuke was the first to recover. Not wasting any time, he quickly closed the gap between himself and Naruto. When he was in range, Sasuke shot out his fist aiming to slam it into Naruto's nose. However, Naruto's reaction time was far quicker than what Sasuke knew. Naruto grabbed Sasuke's bicep and wrist and tossed him over, completely slamming him into the ground with a very audible thud. Sasuke coughed having the wind taken out of him. He recovered quickly though. He brought his knees in close to his chest, and like a spring, shot his feet into Naruto's stomach sending him back a number of steps before Sasuke got back onto his feet. The two stared at each other breathing rather heavily after their first initial skirmish. Naruto smirked.

"I can't believe you fell for that again," he toyed. Sasuke gave an annoyed grunt in response. He remembered the very first time that Naruto had gotten the better of him.

**/Flash Back no Jutsu/**

_The two combatants faced each other. Their eyes locked on. Both feeling confident in their abilities despite the fact that the results of the fights previously had always been rather one sided. _

_"__Get ready Sasuke, I'm going to grind you into the dirt this time!" Naruto shouted from across the grounds. Sasuke made a sort of clicking noise and brushed of the knuckleheads declaration. _

_The starting signal was given and Sasuke took to the offensive attempting to end the match in one strike. He rushed out, and sent a lightning fast jab straight to Naruto's nose. However, something unexpected happened. Sasuke found that his hit hadn't landed on its target and that instead there was a hand wrapped around his wrist and bicep. The next thing he knew, he was being flung over Naruto and crashing into the ground in a heap. Naruto quickly doubled back so as to make some space. _

_Sasuke slowly picked himself off the ground. Naruto had a determined fire in his eyes but held a victorious smirk on his lips. He looked around and realized that many students had witnessed what had happened and stopped doing whatever it was they were doing so as to watch how the fight progressed. He looked at his sensei and saw that his shocked expression was what he assumed to be similar to his own. No one had ever managed to do something like that to Sasuke within the academy. No one. So when the dead last of the class did, everyone knew it was worth their attention._

_Sasuke brushed himself off and got back into his stance. Everyone was watching now. Sasuke cast Naruto an analytical gaze. Something clicked inside Sasuke's head and he realized that Naruto's stance wasn't that of the academy. He decided to just ignore it and assume that it was something he just made up. He got one lucky shot. It wouldn't happen again. Those were his thoughts as Sasuke rushed him once more. The end result of that spar was Naruto winning due to his endurance. As Sasuke lay on the dirt looking up at a blonde haired idiot with a goofy grin offering a helping hand, he realized he would never underestimate his classmate again. _

**/Flash Back no Jutsu – Kai!/**

Ever since then, the fights between Naruto and Sasuke were always rather close. Eventually one day, Sasuke's curiosity got the better of him and during one of their fights asked what kind of style Naruto had. Expecting a snide answer or some kind of sarcastic comment he didn't really expect to get much information out of him. Naruto however, surprised him as usual.

Naruto told him that his style was something he had read in a book. He confessed that he wasn't very good with taijutsu and really needed to learn something that worked better for him than what the academy taught. He looked at all different kinds of styles such as the Goken, the Hyuuga's taijutsu and even the Uchiha's Intercepting Fist style and studied bits and pieces of them. However none of them really fit him.

Whilst looking around in the library though, Naruto had found a battered book with a style he thought looked interesting. When he started practicing he realized that he actually really liked it and it flowed well with him. It was known as the Crashing Wave style.

The style was inspired from a ninja observing the movements of the ocean. The whole style was based on being able to evade and effortlessly defend against oncoming attacks before crashing in hard against the opponent to cause devastating damage. Naruto had continued to train in this style and before long; he was good enough with it to use it in combat. He was no master but it was enough to allow him to spar on par with Sasuke.

It was Naruto's turn now. He rushed Sasuke. Sasuke stood his ground and waited for the strike. Naruto faked the cross and went in to sweep at the paler boys leg. Sasuke however saw it coming. He lifted his leg up and with that same leg and sent a kick aimed at Naruto's stomach. Naruto pivoted slightly so that the kick missed. He spun around and backhanded Sasuke in the face causing Sasuke to double back.

Naruto didn't let up though; he went to swing for a right hook, which Sasuke blocked with his forearm. Naruto was left open and Sasuke took advantage of that. Before Naruto could even react, Sasuke had sent his other fist right into Naruto's face causing his head to rock backwards. Sasuke then delivered a sidekick into Naruto's stomach making him stumble back whilst hunched forward. He then rammed his knee into Naruto's chin making him almost fall over.

Sasuke's onslaught was devastating but Naruto didn't go down. He recomposed himself and braced himself again for one of Sasuke's punches. He was constantly on the defensive and was slowly being pushed back as he dodged and defended against Sasuke's punches and kicks. Just as Sasuke was about to send one last punch into our blonde hero's face, he ducked making the fist shoot straight over his head. Naruto's next move took his nickname to a far more literal level.

Being the knucklehead he was, Naruto shot like a bullet straight into Sasuke's stomach. Sasuke went stumbling back. Sasuke grunted as an annoyed expression crossed his face. He had had enough and was going to end it. Sasuke rushed in once more. Naruto sent a roundhouse kick aimed at Sasuke's head. Sasuke smirked at his opponent's mistake. Dropping low and spinning with an outstretched leg, he swept Naruto's stable leg causing the blonde to drop on his back. Sasuke was on Naruto in a second. He had a knee on Naruto's chest and a fist cocked back ready if the blonde attempted to struggle. Iruka decided to call it then and there, knowing that the soon-to-be-ninja would indeed try to break free.

"Winner: Sasuke Uchiha."

The girls cheered. Sasuke got off Naruto who had slowly started to get up himself. They made the friendship symbol and walked over towards the group. Naruto would be lying if he said he wasn't a little disappointed. He wanted his last academy fight with Sasuke to end in his win. It almost did too. But at the current time he knew that Sasuke was better and that he still had plenty of room to improve. If there was one thing that was beaten into him by Rika and the Ichiraku's, it was humility. He was still confident in his skills but understood that there would always be others stronger than him. He no longer ran off his mouth shouting out that was always the best without actual evidence of that fact.

Once Iruka had led the group back to the classroom he had everyone sit down, Naruto once again taking the seat at the very back. It had become common knowledge that that was Naruto's spot.

"OK everyone," Iruka started "Tomorrow is the big day, the day where you test all of your knowledge that you have accumulated whilst being here. This test is not only to see if you have what it takes to be a ninja, but to see if you have what it takes to become a true citizen of this village. You have all worked hard and I am proud to have taught all of you. Rest well tonight and give it everything you've got tomorrow," he said inspiring all of his students. With a smile he had dismissed his class.

Naruto had the day off at work with the Ichiraku's due to the coming exam. Naruto was rather confident in his ability to pass the exam now thanks to Rika. He had decided to get tutoring from her whenever he didn't understand something or needed to catch up on some work. With her help he had managed to get decent grades in all of his written tests throughout his time within the academy.

Because of this, he had felt he ought to just rest for the rest of the day. Ayame had once told him after she had found him exhausted in a training ground that it was bad to always constantly be training without a break. That went for mental training as well. He needed to be fresh for tomorrow and would not do anything to jeopardize his chances of passing. So he decided to just relax for the rest of the day.

He stopped by the library to borrow some more books. Rika wasn't there though which left him a little disappointed but he got over it quick. He then took a more scenic route that went over the Hokage Monument on his way home. It was a pleasant walk through the village. The sun gave off a warm glow and the light breeze that was blowing through village made Naruto feel at peace. The weight that the books he was carrying were significant but not to the point of un-comfortableness. It was nice.

Naruto's time at the library and the time that it took to walk home apparently took a large amount of time because when Naruto finally did arrive at his apartment, the sky had gone a dark orange color. Naruto shrugged it off as he walked inside his house. No longer was it the chaotic mess it used to be. Now it was neat and organized. Both Rika and Ayame during one of their 'Big Sister Competitions' decided to teach Naruto that he needed to change his living style.

He was against the idea at first believing his way of living was fine but before long they had swayed him. Now his house was clean and all his belongings organized. He put his recently borrowed books on the bookshelf he made himself with the tools that he borrowed from Teuchi before making his way to his kitchen. He went into the drawers and pulled out a plain black full body apron. He put it on and washed his hands. On the window sill above the sink stood a bookstand. He had put his recipe book there with the page that he was going to use this evening already open before he left.

"Alright," Naruto said excitedly "Let's do this!"

And with that, Naruto started busying himself with cooking. Taking out ingredients from his cupboards and fridge, cooking them in a pan on the stovetop and cutting vegetables and meats. The end result was an incredibly delightful looking stir-fry with an aroma of different herbs and spices.

Naruto served it on a plain white porcelain plate and put it on his dining table. He undid his apron and folded it neatly before placing it back where he found it and then sat down at his table and started eating. It wasn't long until he finished. It was quite some time ago did he realize that eating alone was…well, lonely. Regardless, he put his dishes away and cleaned them up before heading out on to his balcony to water his plants.

The sky had gone black now. The sky was only lit due to the twinkling stars above. There was a nice cool breeze surrounding him. The midnight air worked wonders for ones mood. Naruto smiled happily as he watered his plants.

'To think,' Naruto thought to himself 'tomorrow is finally the day that I start my career. The day when I finally become a full-fledged ninja,' Naruto gave a warm smile at that prospect.

'And my first step to Hokage.'

Once he had run out of water and finished watering his plants he went back inside to read. After a few hours had passed, Naruto stopped reading, took a nice hot shower and went to sleep. He decided that he needed to be well rested for what his test tomorrow. He slept like a log.

The next morning, Naruto woke up bright and early. He decided not to do his usual morning routine that day thinking that it wouldn't bode well if he were exhausted already before his test. He wanted to be at a full 100% for his exam. He smiled as he walked out his bedroom after getting ready. He had already had a shower and had gotten changed. Feeling refreshed and dressed, all Naruto needed now was an awesome breakfast. He started to get to work. It was a rather plain breakfast but was more than enough. It was a typical Japanese breakfast. Miso soup and rice with other side dishes as well. After breakfast, he made his way towards the academy. As usual he was the first one there. He looked around. It was his final day in the academy and the temptation to pull off one last awesome prank was incredibly hard to resist.

However, he decided to put it off for now. After all, he technically wasn't a Genin yet. His last prank would be better suited for after he passed his exams. A graduation present if you will. He walked into his classroom and sat down reading his favourite book. It was one of the very first books that he had got from the library, _The Tale of an Utterly Gutsy Shinobi_. He had managed to convince Rika to let him have it. She said that it was OK because it was an old book and that the library had decided that it could be disposed off. Naruto was thankful he was allowed to keep it. It now had sentimental value towards him. He and the main character shared the same name after all.

Naruto had changed quite a lot since the past two years. He had become somewhat calmer and more controlled. Indeed he still had his childish attitude and could be boisterous from time to time and he still loved a good prank but they were on a far more moderate level now. He would sit quietly in class and pay attention (for a time until he got bored and fell asleep). He would still train really hard but now he knew that training the way he used to was not beneficial for his body nor health and in essence was actually holding him back. A child pushing his body to the limit like he did before, day after day was not a healthy lifestyle, even for a ninja in training.

He still loved ramen but did not eat it as regularly. Twice a week was enough to satisfy him. Naruto had also met a few acquaintances. He wasn't sure if they were actually friends but he did spend time with a few of his classmates from time to time whenever they decided that they should skip class.

Kiba and his pet dog Akamaru were a brazen pair. Kiba reminded Naruto a lot of himself, the same incredible confidence and a fire to fight. They would often discuss their dreams and goals of saving princesses, becoming heroes and just an overall badass. His pet dog Akamaru was pretty cool too.

Then there was Shikamaru Nara. He was, in Naruto's opinion, the laziest person he had ever met. The boy had no drive and would often make excuses just to have a nap. Regardless though, Naruto thought he was pretty cool and he realised that Shikamaru was really smart. He knew the answer to almost every question Naruto would ask. When Naruto confronted Shikamaru about how he knew so much he simply said

"Learning is too troublesome, but I can't help but over hear what people say."

Naruto had simply cast aside the incredibly half assed answer and just concluded that Shikamaru was some kind of genius but was too lazy to actually use his talents.

Naruto's last class skipping buddy was Choji Akimichi. A plumper boy than most, could always be seen with a packet of barbeque flavoured chips on hand. Naruto didn't judge him though. He figured that if he could have his favourite food on him at all times then he'd probably eat it all the time as well. Choji was also always seen with Shikamaru. They were almost like Kiba and Akamaru.

Choji was a lot quieter than the other two but Naruto still thought he was pretty cool. Naruto had discovered that Choji was incredibly kind. One time, they were alone together and Naruto had asked Choji how he had met Shikamaru. Choji told Naruto the story of how he was left out of playing ninja with the other kids and that Shikamaru too had left because he didn't want to play a game with people that bullied others. He had found Choji sitting on a rooftop with his dad. The two shared snacks and watched clouds together and became friends after that day.

Naruto couldn't help but feel somewhat akin to what Choji had felt. He had told the boy that he too was never allowed to play ninja with the other kids, which Choji was somewhat surprised about. Choji then and there did something that surprised Naruto completely. He had handed the blonde haired boy his packet of chips and asked Naruto if he had wanted to share them. Naruto was stupid but he was no fool. He knew what those chips meant to Choji and if he was willing to share them with him, Naruto wasn't going to decline. He happily accepted.

It wasn't just his social skills that changed as well though. Appearance wise he had changed considerably. Due to his healthy eating he had gotten taller and now stood at an average height within his class. He was also leaner. He was far from bulky but he had some meat on him. It made him look a lot healthier. His choice of clothing had also changed…well somewhat. Thanks to Iruka convincing Naruto that stealth would be harder for him whilst wearing an incredibly bright colour on missions, Naruto had reluctantly gone out to buy some new clothes that were far more practical on missions.

Naruto had bought a number of dark coloured cargo pants that were easy and comfortable to move in as well as a number of dark coloured short and long sleeved tops as well. Whilst shopping he decided that he ought to have a few casual clothes as well for when he was just hanging around in the village. So, he bought some nice polo shirts as well that had simple designs on them. He never got rid of his jacket though. In fact, at the time, Naruto was wearing a black top with the leaf's fire emblem on it and some black cargo pants. He wore his jacket on top but it was open and his sleeves were rolled up just above his elbows. That's how he wore his jacket now whenever he did wear it. He had decided that he would only wear it in the village but seeing as he was not yet a ninja he had no need to really stop wearing it.

From his desk, Naruto turned around. Students had started walking in. It was Shino, Ino and Sakura. They were not all together but they did arrive roughly around the same time. Shino had walked in first. Naruto had eyed him off and Shino gave an acknowledging nod before sitting down at his desk. Naruto, like everyone else in his class thought of Shino to be a huge mystery. However, unlike everyone else, Naruto didn't think of Shino as weird, just…different. And that didn't always mean a bad thing. When Ino and Sakura walked in, Naruto eyed them off as well but were too busy arguing with each other to notice him.

Over the past two years, Naruto had gotten over his little childish crush on Sakura. She had realised that Naruto no longer showered her with affection and feeling somewhat disappointed about that fact, had confronted him about it. Naruto simply told her that he was just being childish. After reading a number of romance stories recommended to him via Rika, Naruto had realised that what he felt for Sakura was not love. He had no real idea what that word entailed but he knew that that wasn't what he felt for her.

Admittedly, Sakura felt somewhat hurt. She liked knowing that a guy liked her. It was quite a confidence booster. Turning someone down after she herself had been turned down from her own crush was a sort of stress reliever for her. However, Naruto had told her that he would be willing to be friends with her if she was willing to be friends with him. Sakura agreed with a smile. Ever since, the two would talk from time to time and exchange books that each had read as well. They weren't close friends but friends nonetheless. She would smile and wave to him sometimes when he passed by. It was…nice.

Soon, everyone had started arriving and before too long the whole room was packed with student's ready to sit their final test. Iruka had walked in and greeted everyone.

"OK, everyone take your seats," he had said. Everyone that had not yet been seated sat down and faced the front. There was no usual challenge for focus today. It was rather obvious as to why.

"So, as you all know today is the day of the final exam. All of you have worked incredibly hard to get to this point and know that as your sensei, I am incredibly proud of you. The tests will start soon so before you are all individually tested I would like to tell you a few words. Over the past few years now, I have been honored to be your sensei. I have seen all of you grow up and become the fine future ninja of this generation. Know that I am incredibly proud of all of you and that if you do your best, then pass or fail, you will always be a winner to me. Now good luck everyone! The first person to take the test will be Hinata Hyuuga."

Everyone waited patiently in the classroom until they say the Hyuuga heiress walk back in with a small but evident smile on her face and a blue headband tied around her forearm. Praise and congratulations was given before Iruka called the next name to test. And so that is how things went on for the remainder of the day. Once a name was called, the student would go off and attempt passing their Genin test and would walk back into the classroom with a headband and a victorious smile on their face or not walk in at all before having the process repeated.

Finally it was Naruto's turn. Iruka had called is name and as he headed towards the door, he heard Choji wish him luck. He smiled and gave a little salute as he walked out of the classroom and into the examining room. There he was met with three teachers including Iruka. Iruka was the one to speak to him.

"OK Naruto, so all you need to do to pass is performs the three academy jutsu. The results from yesterday's physical exam and the theory test a day before have all been passing grades. So, good luck."

Naruto gave a nod and waited for the next instruction.

"OK," started the teacher to the right of him "A simple transformation jutsu."

Naruto smirked. This was one of his favourites. He could never perform the jutsu properly but when he used it as a joke to make the sexy jutsu he had gotten it perfect. Iruka had told him that he would just need to have the same mindset from when he did the sexy jutsu with all his transformations. It took some time but he finally understood what he had meant. Focus. And even though he may not have been the best at that, he did have enough now to get things done, such as this transformation.

He gathered the right amount of chakra, put his hands into the required seal and did the jutsu. A plume of smoke covered him and after it dissipated, in Naruto's place was a perfect replica of the Fourth Hokage. Naruto chose to transform into the Fourth because he was Naruto's hero. He didn't exactly know why, but…he just was. Iruka gave him a smile.

"Excellent," he said. "Moving on to the next one." Naruto gave a nod.

"Please perform the replacement technique." Naruto once again gave a calm nod. In a second, he had switched his position with a chair that was in the corner of the room. This had received another reassuring smile from the instructors. Iruka spoke once again.

"And now finally, the clone jutsu." Naruto smirked. Naruto did the customary Shadow clone hand seal, which surprised everyone in the room but Iruka. With an audible 'poof' four other Naruto's appeared by the original all wearing victorious smirks. Iruka returned his smirk with a smile of his own.

"You pass Naruto," was all he said before there was a loud cry of "yatta!" from our blonde haired hero and his three other clones, which he quickly dispelled.

"OK, OK, that's enough Naruto. Choose a headband by the table over there," Iruka started indicating to the table by the door and then I'll escort you back to the classroom. Naruto complied and chose a headband with the standard blue material. He tied it proudly onto his forehead. After that, he walked back into the classroom with his head held high. He looked around and saw that the guys he hung out with as well as Sakura and even Hinata for some reason were all smiling at him. His eyes glanced past Sasuke whom was sitting just a few rows in front of his own seat. Their eyes locked for the briefest of moments before Sasuke turned away to look out the window. Naruto smirked. He knew what that had meant. He had guessed it was along the lines of something like "Good job, but I'm still better than you." Naruto shook his head. He went back to his seat and waited like everyone else.

Once testing was finished, Iruka came back into the classroom. Within the room, only those with a headband could be seen. All of Naruto's classmates that he had taken actual any notice of had passed, which he was happy for. Even that weird Shino guy passed. Naruto turned his head to the front as Iruka coughed to get everyone's attention.

"OK you lot, take a good look around at everyone in this room. All of these people will be the people you work with someday and may end up counting on with your life. You are now all comrades of the leaf. All proud Genin of the greatest nation on the continent, The Village Hidden in the Leaves! May the Will of Fire burn strong in each and everyone of you. Now with that being said, you are all dismissed. Come again tomorrow at the usual time for team placements and to officially meet your new instructors. I wish all of you the best of luck!" With that, Iruka made his way out of the classroom, shortly followed by the rest of the students. Naruto was one of the last to walk out as usual. As he had made his way towards Ichiraku's for work he couldn't help but glance back at the academy one more time. After having an incredibly powerful sense of nostalgia wash over him, he smiled and ran towards Ichiraku's determined to face his future. 

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**R&amp;R if you enjoyed! :D**

**Vendo-sama is out~**


	4. Teams!

**Authors Note: **

**Hey Mina-san! I'm back! I'll be trying to post as regularly as possible on this story as I can now, so please tune in! **

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**DISCLAIMER:**

**As usual, I do not own Naruto and never will. **

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**Naruto: The Tale of a Slightly Smarter Shinobi**

**Chapter 4: Teams**

Naruto stood in front of his mirror looking at his attire. He wore clothes similar to the clothes he wore yesterday except this time there was a small change in attire. Around his neck was a tattered orange neck sash. Naruto smiled, a traveler had given it to him one day when Naruto was working at the ramen stand. The traveller spoke of great big adventures and Naruto, as he was serving the man, told him about how he had wanted to be a ninja and go on exciting adventures as well. The man had then handed the neck sash directly from his own neck to Naruto whilst saying

"This sash has been with me on many adventures and has helped me out more times than I'd care to admit. Hopefully it will do the same for you," he had said. Naruto took it with glee and had promised to keep it safe. The man could only smile as he continued to eat his ramen before leaving the stand with a small farewell.

Naruto figured that he ought to start wearing the sash for this was the official day that he would become a ninja and his adventures would finally start.

'But before being a ninja,' Naruto thought with a mischievous grin as he turned from his mirror and looked at the store of supplies on his bed.

'I have one last thing to do.'

Naruto took the different items on his bed and shot out of the open window. An hour later, the shrieks of both civilian and shinobi alike could be heard throughout the village whilst a certain blonde haired ninja could be found laughing loudly on his way to the academy.

"Best retirement prank ever." Naruto concluded as he looked back at his handiwork from a distance. All the different Hokage faces on the Hokage monument were graffitied. The Frist, Second and Third all had either: stupid mustaches, weird scars, or some other kind of childish defamation on their face. The Fourth's face however, instead had its hair painted yellow and whisker marks that resembled our blonde hero's. On top of all the faces, written in a painful bright orange was "NARUTO UZUMAKI - THE KING OF PRANKS!"

Naruto smiled proudly and made his way into the classroom where, like usual, he was the first one there. However, unlike usual, he didn't have to wait very long until everyone else had showed up.

Usually other people would just leave him be but today he had gotten mixed greetings. Some people, when they saw him looked at him and called him an idiot under their breaths but this time, most of his classmates gave him a high-five saying how awesome it was that he managed to deface the whole Hokage monument without getting caught.

Kiba in particular, somewhat grumpy that he wasn't there to help out had started asking details about the prank and how he did it. Naruto simply told him "The Prank King does not give away his secrets." Kiba walked off in a huff. Sakura, when she saw Naruto, had scolded him for doing something that could potentially get him into a lot of trouble. Naruto told her that she worried too much. Sakura sighed at his carefree attitude and walked off as well but not in an angry way. Soon, all the students that had passed their Genin exam were in the room and shortly afterwards Iruka walked in as well.

"OK everyone, I am only here today to tell you your team placements. So, Team One is…" and with that Iruka started calling out the team placements. Naruto looked around at the different reactions of students. There were some looks of disappointment, some of excitement and some in between. Naruto then thought about his own placement.

He didn't really mind who he got on his team. Most people thought of him the same way anyway. He supposed that it would be better if it were someone that actually liked him like Choji instead of someone that just tolerated him like Sasuke. But, in the end it didn't matter. He was sure that whomever he got, they could at least work together civilly.

"Team Seven" Iruka had called "will be made up of Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto looked at Sakura whom looked at him as well and gave him a small wave and smile. "And Sasuke Uchiha." Sakura's response was instantaneous. She had rocketed off her chair and shouted out "cha!" whilst the majority of the girls in the class gave a collective moan in jealousy.

"You're so lucky forehead!" Ino shouted "That should be me with Sasuke!" Sakura could only puff her chest out in pride.

"Too bad Ino-pig, just face it, Sasuke and I were destined for each other." Sasuke turned to look at Naruto who at the time was smiling awkwardly at the girl's antics. However, he had felt Sasuke's gaze and turned to look back at him. The two stared at each other for a moment before Sasuke broke it off and looked back at the window with a huff saying, "just don't hold me back loser."

Naruto was about to throw a chair at him but Iruka had started calling out the names of the next team.

"Team Eight will consist of Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame."

The three different people reacted differently. Well…two and a dog. Shino didn't react at all.

"Team Nine is still active so Team Ten will be made up of Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka and Choji Akimichi." Iruka put his list of teams away.

"Those are the teams of this year's graduates. Your new sensei's will arrive shortly. So, before that, all of you are dismissed for lunch. After which, all of you will go within your newly formed teams to wherever it is your sensei takes you. Good luck!" with that said, Iruka dismissed his students and walked out of the room.

Everyone just sat there for a moment a little unsure of what to do. Naruto shrugged and started making his way out. Sakura realised that Naruto was heading off so she had called out to him from his seat.

"Naruto, where are you going?" she had asked. Naruto looked at her.

"What do you mean? Iruka-sensei had said that its lunchtime. No point waiting around here getting hungry right?" Naruto said simply as he put his hands in his pockets and walked out. A moment later Naruto heard the rustling of seats moving and soon his fellow classmates were all heading out of the room as well. Naruto couldn't help but smile a little. Naruto made his way to the academy roof. Usually students would go to the yard to hang out but he enjoyed the roof because it was quiet and peaceful. On top of that, it allowed him to see things through a better perspective.

He would often be joined by Shikamaru on the roof simply because the lazy Nara enjoyed the clouds. Naruto didn't complain. The guy was pretty quiet to start with so it wasn't like the pineapple haired boy would disrupt him. However, today both Choji and Shikamaru were going to grab some lunch elsewhere so Naruto was by leant on the railing that prevented people from accidentally falling off the edge of the roof and looked down at the other students hanging out and relaxing within the courtyard.

Things appeared to be so simple. However, Naruto couldn't help but feel a little detached from that kind of innocence. He didn't know why…he just did. He had scanned around the area and noticed that as usual, Sasuke was sitting by himself whilst a group of girls, Sakura included were all ogling at him. Naruto didn't really care what they did as long as they didn't bother him but it was somewhat degrading to see that that would be the next generation of shinobi. Naruto sighed, a rather bad habit that he had picked up from his Nara friend.

'Well whatever,' he thought to himself as he pulled out some Pocky from the inside of his jacket. He had a rather big breakfast so he felt as if he didn't need a large lunch. Pocky would do.

Naruto started making his way down from the rooftop with his hands in his pockets. As he climbed down the stairs that lead to the rooftop he noticed a faint colour of purple hiding behind a corner. His eyebrows perked up and called out.

"Hello?" he questioned. There was no response but the purple disappeared in a sort of flicking motion. Naruto thought nothing of it but decided to up his pace to try and get a glimpse of what it was. As he rounded the corner he saw a girl halfway towards another corridor wearing a rather bulky cream jacket with distinct indigo hair looking like someone had just put a spot light on her.

"Hinata?" Naruto asked. He had made it a point to remember all the future clan heads within his class. He figured that it was almost beyond coincidence they had all ended up in the same academy class.

The girl didn't say anything except for a few stuttering sounds. She did however start going an incredible crimson colour.

"N-N-Naruto-kun!" she finally shrieked out. Naruto tilted his head.

"Yeah?" he asked her simply. She shook her head violently and looked down at the ground. Naruto's face turned into one of confusion.

"Hey are you ok?" he asked her sincerely "you're all red. Maybe I should take you to the nurses office?" She shook her head again.

"That won't be necessary Uzumaki-san," a rather dark and mysterious voice said. Naruto had turned around, readying himself for a fight and was greeted with sunglasses about a nose distance from his face.

"She is my teammate therefore I will tend to her."

Naruto gave a nervous nod as he watched Shino Aburame escort Hinata Hyuuga away.

'He's so creepy sometimes,' Naruto thought with a fake comical shiver. After that little incident had passed he made his way towards the courtyard. People were still eating (himself included, even though it was just some Pocky) and chatting away as well. Naruto looked at the clock stationed outside. He still had a few minutes until lunch finished. He saw Sakura eating by herself on a bench and decided to approach her.

"Yo," was all he said with a small wave as he walked up to her. She looked up from her food and smiled at him.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked. She shook her head prompting Naruto to sit beside her on the bench. She didn't mind Naruto. Well, not anymore at least.

She remembered when he was still an annoying brat that wouldn't shut up about being Hokage. Now, well now he was a little more reserved. She liked that about him. He was still childish so she felt as if she had a responsibility to scold him when he did something stupid but she was never mean about it anymore.

"So, looks like we're on the same team as Sir Never-Speaks-A-Lot," Naruto laughed a little at his own joke. Sakura frowned at him.

"Don't say bad things about Sasuke-kun," she said sternly. Naruto only shrugged. He wasn't in a mood to argue.

"So, what do you think this will be like?" he asked her.

"What do you mean?"

"As in, being a ninja. Like, what do you think it'll be like? Do you think it will be hard? Easy? Peaceful? You know…"

Sakura gave a thoughtful look, putting her food to one side. She shrugged.

"I don't know. It's pretty straight forward though right? We train, go out and do missions and get paid. Simple."

Naruto looked at her for a moment. Sakura felt a little embarrassed at the sudden stare. She could feel her face start to flush.

"S-S-Stop that!" she stuttered, "Why are you looking at me like that for?" Naruto suddenly stopped and gave her a goofy smile.

"Sorry, sorry," he said with a small laugh. "It's just, your response was not something I was expecting was all. I thought it'd be a sort of textbook answer ya know. Something like 'Ninja's are tools used by the village blahdie blah blah," he said mockingly. Sakura laughed a little.

"I don't always do things by the book," she said with a mock pout. Naruto smirked "same." Was his only response as he looked back up at the Hokage monument, spotting a few ninja cleaning it.

The two talked a little more about their exam and what they transformed into or what they used a substitution. There was suddenly a loud cry of "Oi forehead! You're missing out! Sasuke just saved a bunny!" Sakura quickly perked up. She said a hurried farewell to her new teammate and ran off to see the apparently spectacular sight. Naruto couldn't help but sigh again.

He looked at the courtyard clock again. Lunch was almost over. He decided he would just head back to class and wait to be grouped off. Once again he was the first one there. But, just like this morning, he didn't need to wait too long until everyone else got there. He had arrived just as the bell went so he didn't even have time to read before all the different students had come back. Once everyone was sitting down and settled, Jonin instructors had started making their way into the classroom and calling out their teams.

The first two that had walked in were the leaders of both Teams Eight and Team Ten. One was a rather young woman with ruby red eyes and a man with distinct facial hair and a cigarette in his mouth. The lady took Team Eight whilst the man took Team Ten. It wasn't before long until all the other teams had been taken by their new sensei's except for Team Seven.

The three members of Team Seven sat there in their seats waiting rather impatiently for their new teacher. Naruto, being the somewhat patient person he was now, was slowly reaching the end of his rope. Before, after just five minutes of waiting, he would have thrown a fit. He looked to the clock and saw that their sensei was already half an hour late. He had enough.

"Urgh!" he shouted, "What's taking him so long!" he shouted as he slammed his hands on to his table as he got up and headed for the door. Both Sasuke and Sakura, although not voicing their thoughts, shared the same sentiments.

"I'm sure he'll be here soon Naruto, just be patient," she told him although disbelieving her own words. Naruto turned to look at her.

"Even Sasuke is annoyed at how late he is," he told her. She turned to look at her crush and noticed that his eye was kind of twitching but he quickly masked it after being called out. He turned away from the both of them without a word.

Naruto had started pacing. It was one of the other habits that he had developed. He didn't exactly know when it had started but it just kind of stuck with him. Sakura had asked him to stop but he told her he simply couldn't. She sighed in defeat. Their new sensei was now forty-five minutes late and all of them were fed up. Just as Naruto was about to suggest leaving, the classroom door had slid open.

A man with ridiculous grey, gravity defying hair wearing a facemask had walked in. Like the other Jonins, he wore typical Jonin attire. Basically he was covered from head to toe. The only part of his face that was visible was a single eye. The other one was covered up by his headband, which was worn on an angle. The three new students looked at the man in a kind of awkward stare.

"Hm…my first impression of all of you is that…I don't like you."

Naruto got annoyed.

"Well I don't particularly like you either! What kind of sensei leaves their new students wait for over half an hour huh!" he barked at the man. Said person didn't flinch.

"Meet me on the roof," was all he said before disappearing in a swirl of leaves. Sakura shouted at Naruto.

"Now you made him angry with us!"

Naruto huffed.

"I don't care. He deserved it. Idiot made us wait and now he's probably going to make us wait even longer. No point in even going to the roof. Bet ya he's not even there."

A grunt could be heard from the back of the room and Naruto and Sakura saw Sasuke getting up and walking past them and then out of the classroom. Naruto sighed.

"But I suppose we ought to at least check if he's there," Naruto decided. Sakura gave a nod as the two of them followed Sasuke up towards the roof. To there somewhat surprise, their new sensei was sitting on the railing waiting for them.

"Ah," he said cheerfully "you're all here. You all took so long I didn't thing you would ever arrive," he told them with an eye smile earning him a few glares.

"Would all of you like to sit down," he said as he pointed to the stairs in front of him. They obliged.

"So," he began "shall we start with a few introductions?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked

"Well…you know, tell us your name, likes, and dislikes, hobbies and dreams for the future. That sort of stuff," their new teacher had said in an incredibly nonchalant voice.

"Maybe a demonstration sensei?" Sakura said a little shyly. "Just so we have an example of what to do." She was quite intimidated by the elder man. Said man gave a thoughtful look.

"Hm, OK," he concluded. He looked down at his new students and started "My name is Kakashi Hatake, I have a number of different likes, a few dislikes, I never really thought about my future and well…I have lots of hobbies."

The three new Genin mentally face palmed. The same thought crossed through all their minds.

'All he really told us was his name.'

"OK," Kakashi started as he pointed to our blonde hero. "You first Blondie."

Naruto ignored the terrible nickname with huff as he started.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto began gaining the attention of his classmates and new teacher. "I like ramen, cooking, gardening and reading," this intrigued everyone there except for Naruto of course.

'Since when did Naruto garden and cook?' Sakura thought to herself.

"I like playing music as well as the people that are nice to me," Naruto said with a small smile.

"I have a number of different dislikes but I don't exactly feel like sharing them," Naruto said with a sheepish grin. His face then turned sort of solemn as he looked up towards the sky. To everyone else, he appeared a little more mature than what he was.

"As for my dream, it's the same from when I was little. I'm going to surpass all the Hokage," Naruto said determinedly "and show everyone that I'm somebody important," he declared. Kakashi gave a nod at his introduction.

"That was good Naruto." He looked at Sakura next. "OK, you're up."

"OK, um, my name is Sakura Haruno." She began. "I like," she gazed her eyes over towards Sasuke and instantly felt her face heat up.

"I-I mean the p-person I l-l-like is."

Naruto sighed.

'She's in her own little world again,' Naruto thought. Sakura had managed to get up to dreams for the future but never properly answered, just looked over at Sasuke and blushed.

'Girls her age are far more interested in boys than their ninja training,' Kakashi thought with a sigh.

"And the person you dislike?" Kakashi asked.

She looked over at Naruto who gave her a curious look. She had remembered when she would have said his name straight away but now, now she didn't dislike him at all.

"INO-PIG!" she cried. All the boys mentally sweat-dropped.

"OK, finally it's your turn broody." With a grunt Sasuke started.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I dislike most things and don't really like anything," he began in his dark and mysterious voice. Sakura retrained a squeal of delight.

"What I have is not a dream because I will make it a reality. I will restore my clan, and destroy…a certain someone."

'He is so hot!' Sakura thought.

'I hope he's not talking about destroying me?' Naruto thought.

'Just as I suspected,' Kakashi thought. He then turned to address all of them as a whole.

"OK guys, now that we all know each other time to get your proper Genin test started."

"What? I thought we've already finished our Genin test," Naruto said. "What are you talking about?"

Kakashi started chuckling.

"Are you sure you want to know?"

Sakura and Naruto gave a nod. Sasuke gave a grunt.

"Out of the graduating academy students that undergo the true Genin test, the pass rate is only 66%. The test is administered by their new potential sensei to determine if they will become an official team or not. All the other students that fail will either be put back into the academy, put into the reserve forces or simply dropped from being a ninja all together."

There was a silence. Then all three new Genin erupted.

"What! I thought we had all become Genin! Naruto shouted.

"Yeah! What was the point of the other test then?" Sakura added.

"The academy test was put in place to find out potential Genin candidates. Technically, the three of you are not Genin just yet. Well, not until you pass of course. That is if you do." Kakashi informed them. The three were suddenly in their own thoughts. Each person thinking exactly why they cannot fail.

"Well, it's not a particularly difficult test. It's just a simple survival exercise," Kakashi said casually somewhat relaxing them. "Be at training ground seven tomorrow morning at five. We'll be starting at dawn," he said as he got off from the railing.

"Oh, and one final thing. Don't have breakfast. Otherwise…you'll puke."

And with that he disappeared in a swirl of leaves once again. The three Genin sat there in silence for a few more moments. Then, with an incredible audible noise that echoed around them, Naruto had slapped his cheeks and jumped up from where he sat.

"Well whatever!" he shouted. "This stupid test isn't going to stop me from being a Genin!" He looked towards his two new teammates.

"And you two shouldn't let this phase you either. I know we're not all exactly the best of friends but we're a team now right?" he said with a small smile. Sakura thought about it for a moment and gave a small smile back. Sasuke grunted.

"It's not like I asked to be put on a team with you," Sasuke said under his breath. Naruto ignored his comment.

"Anyway, I better head off to work. I'll see you guys tomorrow bright and early I guess," he said as he started walking away. Once Naruto had left, Sakura and Sasuke were left a lone. To Sakura it was a dream come true and she was making a mental note to thank Naruto later. Sasuke on the other hand was having a far more curious thought.

"Sakura," he began causing her to say, "yes" in a surprised high-pitched voice.

"Since when did Naruto work?" he asked plainly. Sakura looked on at him for a moment in bewilderment. Sasuke made a good point. When did Naruto start working? And what did he do?

"I-I don't know Sasuke-kun," she said honestly. He gave his usual grunt.

"Whatever, I'm leaving," he said as he got up and walked away as well. It wasn't before long before Sakura left as well; a little disappointed she didn't get to talk with Sasuke more.

As she was heading home, she spotted Naruto walking into what appeared to be a ramen stand. Feeling curious she decided to go in as well. However, before she even entered the shop, she found Sasuke standing in front of it as well. He wasn't making a move to go in. He was just simply staring at it.

"Sasuke-kun?" she questioned. He didn't even acknowledge her presence. Sasuke just started talking.

"I followed him. This is where he works," was all he said before he walked in. Sakura couldn't help but smirk.

"You're kind of a curious person aren't you Sasuke-kun," she said stifling a small giggle before she followed in after him.

"Hey there, what can I – oh it's you guys," Naruto, wearing a white apron greeted the two of them. Sasuke didn't say anything, so Sakura decided she would greet Naruto for him.

"Hey there Naruto, since when did you start working here?"

Naruto gave her a smile as he put two menus on the bar in front of them, which they sat in front of.

"About two and a half years ago roughly," he told them. "Back then I couldn't really do much though. Just dishes. Now I can basically run the shop my self," he told her proudly.

"So what exactly is this place?" she asked him as both her and Sasuke started looking through the menu. Naruto puffed out his chest as he answered.

"This is Ichiraku ramen stand! The greatest ramen stand in the world!" he said proudly.

"That's ma boy!" said a rather tall man as he patted Naruto on the back.

"Teuchi-ojisan!" Naruto shouted as he rubbed his back. "That hurt ya know!"

"If that hurt then I haven't toughened you up hard enough!" the elder man said as he prepared his hand to give another good whacking. However, he was quickly smacked on the head with a frying pan.

"Otou-san!" a pretty young girl that looked just a few years older than Naruto shouted.

"Ayame…" the man whined. Naruto couldn't help but laugh.

"Thanks Ayame-onee-chan!" Naruto said with a grin, which was returned in kind.

"No worries Naruto," she told him as she started to drag her father around towards the back of the kitchen.

"Tou-san and I are going to be making some orders today so close up at the usual time OK Naruto-kun."

Naruto gave a salute in confirmation. With another smile, Ayame took her fallen father away. Naruto turned back to his two new teammates looking at him curiously.

"Who was that?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, that was Ayame-nee-chan and Teuchi-ojisan," Naruto, told them simply as he handed the both of them a glass of water. "They are the ones who own this store," he said happily.

"So, what did you guys want?" Naruto asked as he leaned over the counter.

Sakura blushed a little.

"Well I already had a pretty big lunch…" she said shyly, not wanting Sasuke to realize she was dieting for him.

"A regular Miso ramen with grilled tomatoes on the side," Sasuke ordered as he handed back his menu. Naruto turned and took the menu from him and gave a nod.

"Not a problem. What about you Sakura?" he asked her. Sakura, not wanting to feel left out decided she should order something as well.

"I don't know Naruto, ramen isn't exactly healthy."

Naruto gave a confirming nod.

"That's true but I mean we're ninja right? It's not like we need to diet," he said with a small chuckle. Sakura's face flushed as she recalled all the numerous diets she's had.

"So what'll it be?"

"A s-small miso please."

"Not a problem!" Naruto cried as he moved towards the back of the kitchen and started preparing both their orders. Sakura and Sasuke sat in relative silence for a little. It was driving Sakura insane so she finally decided to start a conversation.

"S-So Sasuke-kun, what made you follow Naruto?"

Sasuke didn't turn to face her.

"I wanted to know where he worked," was the only response she got. It was so quick and to the point that Sakura felt trying to continue the conversation would be useless. It wasn't too long until Naruto had come back with their bowls of ramen.

"OK, so one regular miso with side grilled tomatoes and one small miso," he said as he placed them down in front of them.

"Enjoy!" he said with a smile. The two looked at the ramen for a moment then, at the same time, with their chopsticks took their first taste.

"Woah! This is really good Naruto!" Sakura said. Naruto wore a smirk that screamed out victory. Sasuke didn't say anything but he continued to eat. Once he had tried the tomatoes he gave an approving nod before continuing his food.

"So Naruto, what made you get a job? Most ninja's only have their ninja career," Sakura asked then informed.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"Eh, ya know how it is," he started "a guy needs to make money somehow. I mean, I got an allowance and stuff from the Hokage but that could only get me so far. I was never able to get anything I wanted and I always relied on the generosity of others. And like, at the time because I was still in the academy I had no way of getting money."

Naruto looked down towards the counter with an almost sad smile.

"Things are hard for an orphan," he confessed.

'But for some reason it was even worse for me,' Naruto thought to himself recalling all the glares and hate that he received as a child. Realizing that he was still in a rather public place he quickly put up a strong front.

"But that's why I'm here now! I got sick and tired of not being able to do what I wanted so I figured if I got a small part time job I would eventually start making enough money to start purchasing my own things," he said with a big grin.

The other two were somewhat surprised to see Naruto being quite open with them and sharing a rather personal aspect of his past. Sasuke in particular, knowing the same pain of being an orphan felt as if a new bridge was made between him and his blonde haired teammate. Obviously he erased that feeling and continued eating almost immediately.

"O-Oh," Sakura stuttered somewhat unsure of what to say. A silence washed over them and it did not leave until both Sakura and Sasuke had a finished their respective meals. Both of them had put their now empty bowls on the counter and slowly started to get up off their seats.

"Thanks for the meal Naruto," Sakura said as he made her way out "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah! We'll beat Kakashi-baka's test no problem!" he declared with a fist pump. Sakura gave him a smile as she walked out. Sasuke gave a nod of appreciation.

"It was good," he said simply "I'll be sure to come again."

Naruto grinned.

"And I'll be sure to turn a regular miso with a side of grilled tomatoes into the Sasuke Special."

Sasuke quickly turned away with a grunt and walked out as well.

Naruto cleaned up the dishes and the looked at the clock on the wall. There were still a few hours until nightfall but he thought he ought to at least get some training in.

"Yosh!" he shouted, "I'll wait a few more hours then lock up and head on to the training ground!"

After it hit closing time, Naruto cleaned and locked up the store and ran towards the training ground. He couldn't help but smile. Even though he wasn't technically a Genin just yet, he was definitely going to get there.

"Genin first and eventually Hokage ya know!"

* * *

**A/N: **R&amp;R! Many thank you's for reading. I'll be back again soon! Vendo-sama out.


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